Happiness Lost
by iloveromance
Summary: A romantic (extremely AU) rewriting of the scene where Holly comes home to find a telegram of devastating news about her brother Fred.
1. Chapter 1

Holly Golightly walked up the stairs of her apartment building, feeling happier than she'd been in a very long time.

She had a wonderful life; her brother Fred was due to get out of the army any time now and she was only too happy to have him live with her. She missed him terribly.

And just days earlier, she'd met a wonderful man... someone that she'd fallen in love with almost instantly. He was devastatingly handsome and sophisticated, but more importantly, he was rich.

Behind her, rich Brazilian José da Silva Pereira followed, pausing while she stopped to check her tiny mailbox.

"Nothing but bills!" She said to no one in particular, sorting through the envelopes as she made her way to her apartment.

As she opened the door, she stopped suddenly, her eyes transfixed on the small white envelope with the impeccably neat handwriting that bore her name and address.

"What's this?"

Excitedly, she ran her hand across the front of the envelope.

"It's a letter from Doc!"

"Who is this Doc you speak of?"

"Now Jose, I've told you about Doc, I know I have! We were married very young and it was annulled ages ago. Problem is that he just can't accept it. But it is nice to hear from him from time to time."

Jose nodded in response.

As they neared her apartment, Holly opened her purse and took out her keys to unlock the front door. Taking only seconds to allow Jose to enter the apartment, she shut the door and walked into the kitchen.

"Would you like a drink?"

"That would be nice." Jose replied.

"There you are." Holly said, handing him the glass of wine. She sat down on the sofa and made herself comfortable, despite the protests of her orange tabby, Cat, who was forced to move from his sleeping place.

She put the stack of letters and sat them on the coffee table; already cluttered with piles of papers and magazines.

"How do you find anything in this mess?" Jose asked, making no attempt to mask his annoyance. "It's like living in chaos!"

Holly pretended that she hadn't heard him. So what if he didn't like her living style? Once they were married and happily living in Brazil, things would change. She'd be a much better person... and a much richer one. Soon she'd be living the life that she'd always dreamed about.

"Bills, bills, bills!" She said again, flipping through the stack of envelopes; most of them bills marked _Final Notice._ She was only vaguely aware of Jose shaking his head in disbelief.

"Let's see what Doc has to say, shall we?" Eager to read what he'd written, she tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter, which was surprisingly short-and very informal; not at all like his previous letters.

In neat, block print was written;

_**Dear Holly, **_

_**Received word that young Fred was killed in a jeep accident in Fort Riley, Kansas. Your husband and children join you in our mutual sorrow. More details soon. **_

_**Love,  
>Doc.<strong>_


	2. Chapter 2

Her hands trembled as she read the words over and over again. This couldn't be happening; it had to be some kind of trick.

But why would Doc do something so cruel? He knew how much she loved her younger brother.

However, the more she stared at the letter; she knew it was no trick. It was painfully real.

"What is it, Holly? What is wrong?" Jose was asking.

But she barely heard him.

Her hand went to her trembling mouth and her chest hurt more than she thought possible.

Hot tears filled her eyes and she began to sob. But then her sadness was joined by anger.

How could this have happened? Fred promised he'd be careful when he left for the army. He _promised_!

What was he doing driving a jeep of all things? He owned a blue pickup truck! Farmers never drove anything else!

The anger and sadness welled inside of her and she began to sob even harder. She couldn't sit here doing nothing.

She wanted throw something; anything.

She ran into her bedroom, picking up every object she could find and threw them as hard as she could; finding comfort in the loud shattering noise they created.

Soon the sound became a drug that she just couldn't get enough of, and she began to tear the room to pieces.

Jose rushed over and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her in an almost violent manner.

"You must stop this at once!" he yelled. "I cannot take this madness!"

He was about to slap her back into reality when the front door opened.

Immediately he let go of her and rushed to find Paul Varjak, Holly's upstairs neighbor hurrying into the apartment.

"What's going on?" Paul asked.

When more crashes came, Paul ran into the bedroom to find Holly hurling objects at the wall; destroying them one by one.

"Holly!"

Immediately he went to her and wrapped his arms around her; finding it hard to control her as she thrashed about.

"Holly! Holly! Honey, what's wrong?"

But when she continued to move violently in his arms; the pillow she was holding burst open, sending feathers into the air where they floated softly to the floor.

After several minutes, still wearing her pink tiara, she collapsed onto the bed, sobbing into her hands.

Gently he touched her shoulder; deeply concerned about the eccentric and beautiful woman whom he'd grown to love in the short time he'd known her.

When she was miraculously calmer, he left the room and closed her bedroom door, eager to find out what was causing her so much pain; and he vowed to make whoever hurt her pay for whatever they had done.


	3. Chapter 3

"All right, what'd you do to her?" Paul demanded when he returned to the living room.

Jose threw up his hands in confusion.

"I know nothing! She read letter and then this! Acting like crazy person, throwing things, making a scene! I simply cannot have it! I have a respected reputation in Brazil and a family to uphold. I'm sure the police will arrive any minute now."

"I doubt that." Paul said. "There's no law against busting up your own apartment. Where's this letter you're talking about?"

Jose walked over to the sofa cringing at the piles of papers. He looked through them thoroughly before finding the letter crumpled into a ball on the floor.

"Here is letter." He said handing it to Paul.

Paul took the letter and began to read out loud.

_"Dear Holly, _

_Received word that young Fred was killed..."_

His blood turned cold and his thoughts drifted to the beautiful, heartbroken woman that lay on her bed only steps away. Feeling helpless, he sank into a chair and sighed deeply.

"Oh my God..."

"What's wrong? Who is this Fred you speak of?"

"Her brother."

"Oh..." Jose said with very little feeling. "What can we do?"

"Try to help her; be there for her. She's going to need all the friends she can get right now. And unfortunately that's you and me. She doesn't have anyone else; besides Doc."

Jose walked over to Holly's bedroom and opened the door, glancing at her with dismay when he realized she was still sobbing into the destroyed pillow.

Finally he closed the door and turned to Paul, shaking his head.

"I cannot do this."

"But she needs you! She loves you!" Paul said.

"My reputation is much too important to be bothered with such drama. I'm very sorry."

And without another word, Jose took one last look at Holly for the last time and left.


	4. Chapter 4

Alone in the apartment, Paul returned to Holly's bedroom where she still lay, sobbing into the broken pillow and sat down on the bed beside her.

"Come here, Honey."

Immediately she raised her head and snuggled next to him, crying into his shirt.

It was the first time in his life where he'd ever felt completely helpless. She was trembling badly and even his hand running up and down her back did little to calm her.

"I'm so sorry, Honey." He whispered over and over again.

"Oh, Fred!" Holly cried.

Paul wasn't sure if the name was meant for him or her brother. She'd told him often that he reminded her of Fred and agreed to let her call him by the same name.

Although he'd never had the pleasure of knowing the young boy, Paul was flattered; for Holly seemed to hold her brother in the highest regard.

He leaned his cheek against hers; alarmed at how warm she felt despite the wet tears on her skin.

"I'm here. Everything will be all right." He whispered, holding her close as he rocked her back and forth like a child.

His heart broke when she continued to whimper; saying her brother's name over and over again.

"Oh, Fred... Fred... Oh, Fred..."

Of course he wasn't Fred; far from it. From what she'd told him, he could never live up to her little brother's image, but now he was sure as hell going to try.

He owed her that much at least.

But he couldn't think about that now. His only concern was to help her through this. And it certainly wasn't going to be easy.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that she'd fallen asleep in his arms.

Gently he removed her tiara and her pink shoes and tucked her into bed.

She'd been through hell and needed her rest.

As though sensing that something was wrong, Cat immediately jumped onto the bed, and snuggled beside Holly, rubbing his body against hers.

"Thanks, Cat." Paul smiled as he rubbed the orange tabby's fur.

He watched Holly sleeping and carefully brushed the hair from her face. When she woke she was sure to be even more upset; having to deal with the fact that her brother was gone and the only real family she had left was her ex-husband Doc.

But he shuddered to think of what would happen when she learned that Jose was no longer interested in her.

Just as Paul suspected, he was clearly the type who was liable to take advantage of a young woman as he flaunted his wealth. And sadly, Holly fell for it.

If only Holly would realize that there was one man who loved her for more than money and riches.

Paul wasn't rich by any means. If anything he was barely getting by. A struggling writer, he was forever trying to find the perfect story to submit to a publisher.

His one book had done remarkably well and he vowed to read it to Holly. It seems that she was the only one interested in his life these days.

Boldly he kissed her cheek, remembering the kiss they had shared in the hallway after spending the entire day trying new things.

It was the most fun he'd had in years.

"I love you Holly Golightly. And even if you don't love me... I'll never stop trying to win your heart." He said softly into her ear.

Her upswept hair had come undone and was now splayed across the pillow, making her appear more beautiful than he'd ever seen her.

"Holly? Did you hear me? I'm in love with you. You're my whole world. Will you marry me?"

The question fell out of his mouth and he felt his heart beating faster; unable to believe he'd asked so casually.

"Yes..." Holly answered.

"Yes, what?"

Her eyes fluttered open and he was surprised when she smiled. She had every right to be sad after what she'd been through but here she was, smiling.

He ran his fingers across her cheek.

"Holly, are you okay? Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes, I did."

He paused, waiting for her reply, which was bound to be disappointing but he had to know.

"I love you too, Paul Varjak. And yes... I'll marry you."

**THE END.**


End file.
